Shawn Van Sluys will lecture in Art Now

Friday, February 9, 2007 - 5:00am - 6:00am

Event Location:

Recital Hall

Crime and Punishment: Appropriation and Intellectual Property Appropriation, mimicry, quotation, allusion, and sublimated collaboration consist of a kind of sine qua non of the creative act.... Jonathan Lethem, Harper's Magazine (Feb 2007) Influence is not absent in art. Collage and quotation define much contemporary and twentieth-century art, from Cubism and Dadaism to Pop Art and appropriationism. Duchamp appropriated a reproduction of the Mona Lisa; Scandinavian artists Michael Elmgreem and Ingar Dragset built Prada Marfa on a desolate ranch in Texas; Tobias Wong produced lapel buttons wrapped with Burberry tartan; and the list goes on. In the digital age and derivative culture, the philosophies and economics of intellectual property have sparked intense debates internationally. Copyright legislation is becoming increasingly re-strictive, stifling intellectual and artistic production, restricting criticism, appropriation, and re-search. Shawn Van Sluys will discuss copyright within the context of derivation, originality, and influ-ence in artistic works. Relating directly to the visual arts, he will situate the dialogue within Ca-nadian copyright concerns and international treaties. Based in Ottawa, Van Sluys is heading the development of the Canadian Art Museum Directors' Organization (CAMDO), a national arts service organization representing 80 directors of Cana-dian art museums. Intellectual property discussions are currently at the centre of CAMDO's ini-tiatives. Van Sluys has held positions as the Public Relations Manager at the Southern Alberta Art Gal-lery and as a research intern at the University of Lethbridge Art Gallery. As Manager of Member Services and Programs at the Canadian Arts Presenting Association (CAPACOA), he gained a performing arts perspective to arts administration. In 2004, he obtained a degree in art history and museum studies with distinction from the University of Lethbridge. Photo Credit: Prada Marfa, 1995. Artists: Michael Elmgreem and Ingar Dragset. Photographer: Lizette Kabre.